Tour of Asean cuisine dispels fusion confusion
Sunday, October 12, 2008
SOME years ago I had the pleasure of visiting Sea World on Queensland's Gold Coast as well as tucking into their delicious lunchtime smorgasbord. One of the wait staff in the restaurant enthusiastically mentioned that they had an extensive selection of Asian food.
"Great, what sort of Asian food?" was my retort. A puzzled look came across her face and then a rather curt response: "You know, Asian food — uh, rice and stuff."
While there are commonalities with many Asian foods in that the staple tends to be rice, for example, there is also more diversity than there is unity in the types of food prepared, the ingredients used and, where the food is consumed.
These days, the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the food of many nations appears to be blurring as more people seek out dishes which fuse various styles.
Fusion food is nothing new and people have been using different ingredients from all over the planet ever since people started moving around and exploring the world. One of the unique cooking styles in Malaysia and Singapore is Peranakan or Nyonya which is an amalgam of Chinese food and local Malay styles that resulted from the intermarriage of Chinese traders and local Malays. While this is possibly one of the first examples of fusion cuisine in the region, very few people would consider it fusion and many would argue that it is a cooking style in its own right.
For some people the idea of altering the way food is traditionally cooked is unacceptable and creates more confusion than fusion. However, using new ingredients with traditional sauces is what some chefs relish. Chef James Tong from The Loaf in Kuala Lumpur claims that today there is a healthy cross fertilisation of cooking styles, ingredients and presentation than there ever was. He continues: "Asian ingredients are becoming better known throughout the world and many Asians are now seeking out dishes from the West." Who would have thought a few years ago that today Asian diners would be eagerly tucking into Spanish tapas along side a plate of dim sum?
Chef Tong has just introduced several Japanese bento box presentations with tapas-sized portions of traditional Western and Oriental dishes but with a mixture of ingredients and spices to tantalise the taste buds, extend diners perceptions of eating and pushing the boundaries of what many diners may have thought possible. They have an extensive selection of cheesecakes that originate from the West but which have Oriental flavours such as green tea and lychee.
In another part of Malaysia, the chefs at Nam Restaurant in Bon Ton Resort Langkawi present their own interpretation of extending the culinary boundaries. They call it "West Meets Spice" in offering their diners traditional Western meats or dishes with the added twist of sauces, spices and ingredients that are available in the local markets. The dishes prepared are obviously popular as the restaurant is packed out on most nights with mostly foreign guests who savour the familiarity of the Western dishes but appreciate the infusion of local ingredients to remind them that they are in an exotic location, far from home. However, to satisfy the cravings of the purists, Bon Ton has several strictly local dishes such as their Kedah Plate which is a delicious selection of small portions (tapas?) of several popular local dishes.
Blue Elephant in Bangkok (and 12 other cities throughout the world) likes to explore several avenues. Probably due to one of the part-owners having lived in Europe for a considerable period of time, there is a little cross-over of styles. For example, diners can sample one of their famous entrées, foie gras with tamarind sauce, where the tart and acidic sauce balances the richness of the goose liver. Similarly, yam ma kuer doi kham (grilled scallops, purple eggplant and truffle oil) has a Western presentation and accompaniment but is traditionally spiced.
Blue Elephant has just introduced their new menu called "back to the origins" where emphasis is placed upon some resurrected recipes that use the finest ingredients like those supplied by the various Thai Royal Projects. Most new dishes are traditional Thai that have evolved from ancient royal cooking traditions. Meek rob boran, for example is from the King Rama V period. This decorative dish, set in a basket of crispy egg noodles includes minute vermicelli pieces mixed with a slightly sweet sauce.
Perhaps it is this interest in unearthing old flavours and fusing them with more contemporary styles that makes Blue Elephant so appealing to many Thais as well as tourists.
In other parts of the region, some restaurants fiercely defend traditional cooking styles when the temptation is there to localise or contemporise their dishes. One of the many tragedies of the civil disorder which afflicted Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge time was the loss of intellectual property including cooking traditions and recipes. The good people at Baray Petit Garden near Angkor's Western Baray have resurrected forgotten recipes to present them to the current generation of Khmers and inquisitive foreigners.
In Kuala Lumpur, Chef Tien at the famous Sao Nam Vietnamese Restaurant sticks to his traditional recipes and refuses to make the dishes more palatable to mainstream Malaysia but preferring to cater to the needs of discerning guests who insist upon the real deal. While he resists the temptation he leans upon the heritage of Vietnamese cooking which is based upon influences from French colonalists, Portuguese traders, neighbouring China as well as complex regional styles within the country.
This is one of many paradoxes with food — it is not only essential for our sustenance, but also the favourite pastime for most, always to be scrutinised and discussed. Bon appétit!The Brunei Times
"Great, what sort of Asian food?" was my retort. A puzzled look came across her face and then a rather curt response: "You know, Asian food — uh, rice and stuff."
While there are commonalities with many Asian foods in that the staple tends to be rice, for example, there is also more diversity than there is unity in the types of food prepared, the ingredients used and, where the food is consumed.
These days, the uniqueness and distinctiveness of the food of many nations appears to be blurring as more people seek out dishes which fuse various styles.
Fusion food is nothing new and people have been using different ingredients from all over the planet ever since people started moving around and exploring the world. One of the unique cooking styles in Malaysia and Singapore is Peranakan or Nyonya which is an amalgam of Chinese food and local Malay styles that resulted from the intermarriage of Chinese traders and local Malays. While this is possibly one of the first examples of fusion cuisine in the region, very few people would consider it fusion and many would argue that it is a cooking style in its own right.
For some people the idea of altering the way food is traditionally cooked is unacceptable and creates more confusion than fusion. However, using new ingredients with traditional sauces is what some chefs relish. Chef James Tong from The Loaf in Kuala Lumpur claims that today there is a healthy cross fertilisation of cooking styles, ingredients and presentation than there ever was. He continues: "Asian ingredients are becoming better known throughout the world and many Asians are now seeking out dishes from the West." Who would have thought a few years ago that today Asian diners would be eagerly tucking into Spanish tapas along side a plate of dim sum?
Chef Tong has just introduced several Japanese bento box presentations with tapas-sized portions of traditional Western and Oriental dishes but with a mixture of ingredients and spices to tantalise the taste buds, extend diners perceptions of eating and pushing the boundaries of what many diners may have thought possible. They have an extensive selection of cheesecakes that originate from the West but which have Oriental flavours such as green tea and lychee.
In another part of Malaysia, the chefs at Nam Restaurant in Bon Ton Resort Langkawi present their own interpretation of extending the culinary boundaries. They call it "West Meets Spice" in offering their diners traditional Western meats or dishes with the added twist of sauces, spices and ingredients that are available in the local markets. The dishes prepared are obviously popular as the restaurant is packed out on most nights with mostly foreign guests who savour the familiarity of the Western dishes but appreciate the infusion of local ingredients to remind them that they are in an exotic location, far from home. However, to satisfy the cravings of the purists, Bon Ton has several strictly local dishes such as their Kedah Plate which is a delicious selection of small portions (tapas?) of several popular local dishes.
Blue Elephant in Bangkok (and 12 other cities throughout the world) likes to explore several avenues. Probably due to one of the part-owners having lived in Europe for a considerable period of time, there is a little cross-over of styles. For example, diners can sample one of their famous entrées, foie gras with tamarind sauce, where the tart and acidic sauce balances the richness of the goose liver. Similarly, yam ma kuer doi kham (grilled scallops, purple eggplant and truffle oil) has a Western presentation and accompaniment but is traditionally spiced.
Blue Elephant has just introduced their new menu called "back to the origins" where emphasis is placed upon some resurrected recipes that use the finest ingredients like those supplied by the various Thai Royal Projects. Most new dishes are traditional Thai that have evolved from ancient royal cooking traditions. Meek rob boran, for example is from the King Rama V period. This decorative dish, set in a basket of crispy egg noodles includes minute vermicelli pieces mixed with a slightly sweet sauce.
Perhaps it is this interest in unearthing old flavours and fusing them with more contemporary styles that makes Blue Elephant so appealing to many Thais as well as tourists.
In other parts of the region, some restaurants fiercely defend traditional cooking styles when the temptation is there to localise or contemporise their dishes. One of the many tragedies of the civil disorder which afflicted Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge time was the loss of intellectual property including cooking traditions and recipes. The good people at Baray Petit Garden near Angkor's Western Baray have resurrected forgotten recipes to present them to the current generation of Khmers and inquisitive foreigners.
In Kuala Lumpur, Chef Tien at the famous Sao Nam Vietnamese Restaurant sticks to his traditional recipes and refuses to make the dishes more palatable to mainstream Malaysia but preferring to cater to the needs of discerning guests who insist upon the real deal. While he resists the temptation he leans upon the heritage of Vietnamese cooking which is based upon influences from French colonalists, Portuguese traders, neighbouring China as well as complex regional styles within the country.
This is one of many paradoxes with food — it is not only essential for our sustenance, but also the favourite pastime for most, always to be scrutinised and discussed. Bon appétit!The Brunei Times
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